Lupita Nyong'o inspired by mother

Lupita Nyong'o was inspired by her mother for her role as mother wolf Raksha in 'The Jungle Book'

Lupita Nyong'o was inspired by her mother for her role in 'The Jungle Book'.

The 33-year-old actress stars as mother wolf Raksha in the fantasy film and admits the motherhood instinct in her is "very much alive".

She said: "I think my mother had a lot to do with what inspired me. She's my example and she's a very good mother. I asked myself a lot of questions about what it would be like to lose one of my own; although I'm not a mother myself I do love children.

"When I was 12, I preferred to stay indoors and babysit my cousins rather than go outside and play. So there's that part of me that's very much alive. I gravitate toward children. So yes, my mother definitely is who inspired me."

Meanwhile, Lupita - who performed her first voiceover role in 'The Jungle Book' - also revealed she likes to try new things when it comes to acting.

She added to EBONY.com: "I like to try out new things - 'Star Wars' was my first attempt at doing motion capture and this is my first voiceover role. I was attracted to it because Raksha is like the eternal mother. And she chooses to take care of this creature who is not one of her own.

"I remember I did a session, a voiceover, really early on and then a few months later Jon called me in again but this time he had Neel's [Sethi, who portrays Mowgli] performance captured and that really grounded the mother-son relationship for me to see the vulnerability of this boy and the love that he had for the wolf - it only made my love for him grow even more. And it's such a beautiful image to see these two very different creatures have this very real bond."